Action Table
Sustainable Food Access Action Team
Acting as a link in the chain of local food availability — coordinating food banks, community gardens, and partner organizations to keep Southwest Florida fed.
Explore this tableWorking Draft: content is actively evolving with stakeholder input.
Civic partnership for Southwest Florida
Building a kinder, healthier, more connected Southwest Florida.
Compassionate SWFL brings together residents, youth, nonprofits, businesses, faith communities, and civic leaders to build a more connected and compassionate Southwest Florida — through Community Conversations, Community Action Tables, and community action projects that create lasting positive change.
From food access and mental health to kindness, youth, and entrepreneurship, each table gives residents and organizations a practical way to turn shared concern into local projects — and everyone is welcome at the table.
Core commitments
- Community-led: Residents, partners, and civic leaders shape the work together.
- Practical: Action tables are meant to move from intent to visible local outcomes.
- Regional: The initiative is grounded in Southwest Florida’s actual context and needs.
In the news
Featured in Natural Awakenings
The May 2026 Collier/Lee edition of Natural Awakenings profiled Compassionate SWFL in “Creating a Compassionate Southwest Florida” by Linda Sechrist, highlighting the initiative’s action-table model, K20 Kindness Summit, FGCU ROCK, Quality Life Center, and the growing regional movement for kindness, compassion, and community action.
Upcoming event
Community Conversation XII
Saturday, July 25, 2026 · 10:00 AM–1:00 PM at Iona Hope Episcopal Church. Join the first anniversary celebration of Compassionate SWFL community conversations and help shape what comes next.
From compassionate intent to coordinated local action
The initiative organizes around practical workstreams that can respond to visible community needs while building long-term civic trust, leadership, and collaboration across Southwest Florida.
Current community signals
- Recovery and displacement pressures continue after major storms.
- Youth mental health stress indicators remain elevated across Florida and Lee County.
- Housing affordability and homelessness remain visible concerns.
- Water quality and environmental degradation continue to impact health and local economy.
Community Action Tables
Focused tables for real community work
Each table carries a defined challenge space, a participation pathway, and room for institutions, residents, and volunteers to contribute in concrete ways.
Action Table
Mental Health Task Force
Building mental-health awareness, strengthening access to community resources, and helping families develop resilience and practical support.
Explore this tableAction Table
One Race Coalition
Practicing cooperation, tolerance, and respect — and preserving true history through education — so Southwest Florida's communities can better coexist.
Explore this tableAction Table
Youth Programs & Education
Helping young people participate through arts, mentorship, leadership, and virtues-based learning.
Explore this tableAction Table
Newly formed table
The Virtues Project
Bringing virtues-based practices — a shared, positive language of character — into schools, families, and community life across Southwest Florida.
Explore this tableAction Table
Kindness & Compassion
Spearheading the kindness initiative in Southwest Florida — supporting projects that make kindness visible, tangible, and systemic across the region.
Explore this tableAction Table
Newly formed table
E-Ship (Entrepreneurship)
Bringing together entrepreneurs, business leaders, educators, nonprofits, and investors to strengthen Southwest Florida's entrepreneurial ecosystem through partnerships, shared resources, and coordinated support.
Explore this tableYour idea here
Start a new table
Every Community Action Table began with a few neighbors around a shared concern. If Southwest Florida needs something you care about, bring it to the table.
Propose a table